KEY TAKEAWAYS: LABI CEO Will Green outlined nine key priorities to drive Louisiana‘s economic growth and workforce expansion Louisiana has shown improvement in business rankings but still faces population decline concerns Early childhood education and child care access identified as critical to boosting labor participation Carbon capture projects could bring major investment and jobs, with LABI backing their expansion   The head of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry touted the state’s gains in the past few years but said it cannot rest and then discussed what his organization sees as essential steps for continued growth. Will Green, LABI’s president and CEO, was the featured speaker March 25 at the Central Louisiana Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 2026 Legislative Session Preview Luncheon. Green spoke about LABI’s founding in the 1970s, which happened because Louisiana wasn’t seeing the economic growth that other southern states were experiencing. “Louisiana had to grow. We began to expand. And industry began to come to Louisiana,” he said. But he said the state was experiencing similar times when he took over the organization two years ago. Green cited population loss, high crime, taxes and education issues. “As so again, just like back in the ’70s, despite an abundance of natural resources, despite the Mississippi River, despite all the things that most states would beg for, we were not seeing the kind of projects and the kind of economic impact across our state” that other southern states were seeing, he said. Green said that with new leadership in state offices and in the Louisiana Legislature, there have been improvements on those fronts. But he said there’s still work to be done because, if the state doesn’t continue to make strides, other states will leave Louisiana behind. He spoke about LABI’s 2026 annual report, called LA Driven, and talked about the nine goals in it: Strengthening job creation Accelerating wage growth Growing the working-age population Increasing labor force participation Improving third-grade reading proficiency Improving high school graduation rates Expanding school-to-work opportunities Reducing crime and improving public safety Improving national business climate rankings He cited Alexandria’s 1% job growth from August 2024 to August 2025 as “positive momentum.” It wasn’t the best in the state, but it wasn’t the worst, either. The Slidell-Mandeville-Covington area had the best at 1.6%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Nonfarm Payroll Employment numbers. Baton Rouge and Hammond were tied for the worst, with just 0.2% of growth. Green said Louisiana has “improved in every single list that’s come out over the last couple of years. “Significant progress is being made.” He said there are some metrics that should cause concern, like a 10-year projected population change of negative 5.3%. Green also talked about how lower labor participation numbers often are tied to early childhood education. He said a hard look at the numbers shows a lot of women not working because of two specific reasons — lack of adequate child care or child care that’s too expensive. Funding for early childhood education “gives parents the flexibility to go back to work,” he said. Green also spoke about LABI’s support for carbon capture projects and the economic benefits for the state. He said the projects could bring in millions of dollars and thousands of potential jobs to parishes “that haven’t seen that kind of economic investment in decades. “These are parishes that need the workforce. They need the dollars to build the schools, to build the fire departments, to reinforce the roads,” he said. “And this is a tremendous opportunity to provide that.” He said the projects can be done “safely, officially, transparently and effectively.” And he said if Louisiana rejects these projects, other states will take them. He admitted he isn’t a scientist or geologist so that he couldn’t debate concerns people have about the projects, but said he could say the economic impact “is tremendous.” Green said LABI will be defending against the attacks on these projects during the legislative session. This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Louisiana Business Industry CEO says state must push growth Reporting by Melissa Gregory, Alexandria Town Talk / Alexandria Town Talk USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect ...read more read less